Walking or Biking to Work Lowers Blood Pressure, Glucose and Triglyceride Levels

Hopping on a bicycle or walking to work is positively associated with fitness levels in men and women, as well as inversely associated with obesity, triglyceride levels, blood pressure, and insulin levels in men, according to the results of a new study. What are you waiting for? In men, the statistical associations between active commuting and various cardiovascular disease risk factors disappeared after adjustment for body mass index (BMI), "suggesting that BMI is a potential mediator between active commuting and cardiovascular disease risk," report lead investigator Dr. Penny Gordon-Larsen (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) and colleagues. Although just 16.7% of subjects reported walking or cycling to work, those considered "active" tended to live closer to their work but also were more likely to walk or bike to the workplace. In men, commuting was inversely associated with BMI, obesity, triglyceride levels, diastolic blood pressure, and fasting insulin levels, and positively associated with HDL-cholesterol levels and fitness levels assessed by exercise time on the treadmill. In women, daily physical activity levels and fitness levels were positively associated with active commuting.

Archives of Internal Medicine, July 13, 2009